Dublin Theatre Festival returns to the Liberties

The Dublin Theatre Festival (DTF) has made its way back to our city again, with plenty of Irish and international productions – including two performances in the heart of the Liberties.

Europe’s oldest specialised theatre festival will take place in a variety of Dublin’s venues from September 26th to October 13th with theatre, music, dance and family events, as well as artist talks, public discussions and artist development programmes.

“Preparations for each festival edition start years in advance while the programme is curated. For this year’s edition over 400 people are in Dublin to put on shows for DTF, so we are all very excited and can not wait to see the results,” marketing assistant at the Dublin Theatre Festival, Sorcha Jordan, told The Liberty.

Launched in 1957 by Brendan Smith, DTF aims to bring world-class theatre to Dublin, support artists in creating outstanding work, and provide a platform to showcase the best of Irish theatre to the world.

During the 18 days festival, people will have the opportunity to indulge themselves in 35 productions including 17 world premieres from nine countries around the world.

One of the venues for this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival will be the Digital Hub in the Liberties, where two events will take place.

Global Desires tells the story of a Russian poet, Polina. Polina is living in Dublin 8 and in navigating life as she “desires World Peace, whilst others desire to play, die, not get comfortable and to keep their desires fresh,” according to the DFT website.

Another event based in the Digital Hub, Walking across Ireland in an age of mass extinction, by Shanna May Breen and Wayne Jordan, is a guided workshop and lecture that involves artist performance, participatory exercises and discussion.

This year’s DTF edition will be the last one for the artistic director, Willie White as he will step down from the position this autumn after 13 years.

“I have loved this job and I’m very grateful for the amazing experiences it has given me and for all the artists and colleagues I have had the privilege to work with,” White said.